Robert Kirkman Talks 'Walking Dead' Spinoff At SXSW

While the spinoff of Robert Kirkman's infamous 'The Walking Dead' was announced months ago, details on the show's premise and timeline have been sparse. In fact, it doesn't even have a name yet -- at least not one ready for prime time. However, at a SXSW session where Kirkman spoke about the spinoff this morning, the show-runner shared a few juicy tidbits fans may be interested to know.

On the as-yet-unannounced title of the spinoff show, Kirkman says they'll have one soon. In the meantime, however, he said, "We're just gonna call it 'Walking Dead: CSI Miami.'" Ha! Quips aside, though, Kirkman seemed excited about the new series and had some details to share on the show's premise.

Kirkman says, "The new show doesn't focus on the comics at all." He explains that "the show is entirely its own thing" and that its intent is to expand the Walking Dead world, showing another corner of the US where this is all happening without being a rehash of what we've seen before. For comic fans who know too much of the future to enjoy the current show fully, an entirely new location (Los Angeles) with a fresh group of survivors may be especially welcome news.

And in regards to that fresh setting, Kirkman says, "The timeline is earlier, before Rick Grimes even woke up...it's more about the initial outbreak" but Kirkman says "it will reach a point where it's running concurrently with the [current] show." Which logically raises the question: will the two shows actually connect? "For the most part, the shows will stand alone," Kirkman says. "But if you are watching both shows, there will definitely be some nods back and forth." But are two shows too much, even for die-hard fans?

With two Walking Dead shows on air at the same time, Kirkman was asked whether he fears an over-saturation of the property. The show-runner quipped that he has no such fears because "if it ever gets to a point where there are four or five Walking Dead shows, I'll be on a boat and I won't care. A boat the size of an island." Handy, perhaps, if a zombie outbreak ever happens for real...

With the new show set to launch later this year, there's still may more we don't know than we do. However, given everything we've been reading online and hearing directly from the show's creator this morning, it sounds like "Walking Dead CSI Miami" will definitely be a hit with fans, as further evidenced by AMC's recent renewal of the show for season 2 without it even being released yet.

Tune in this summer when the new Walking Dead spinoff launches on AMC.